The Forgotten War at Home

I follow quite a few other blogs on a regular basis. Once in a while I'll go trolling around the blog world to check out some I haven't read before. I've recently come across blogs written by War Widows, specifically a couple that have really seared my soul and tugged at my heart. I really don't think they mind mentioning the title of their blogs since they are out there for anyone to see.

"Letters To Tommy" is a blog by the wife of a Marine who after 2 deployments (First in Iraq then Afghanistan) came home so troubled that he shot himself. "Wife of a Wounded Marine" is a similar tale, this Marine was wounded, spent a great deal of time in the hospital and also died after he was home. Both soldiers were suffering from PTSD among other things.

I'm not here to debate what happened to these guys and whether they received the treatment they should have received after it was obvious they were in deep, deep trouble.

No I want to highlight the pain, desperation and suffering of those that were left behind. Those woman (wives, in this case) went through absolute hell. Both state that the blog serves the purpose of getting their thoughts, emotions, etc out in the open. I commend them for their strength, courage and honesty. These stories are just horrific. War is rarely just fought by the soldiers themselves...even those who survive the battlefield come home terribly scarred emotionally as well as physically at times.

The partner then begins their war trying to understand, to offer support, encouragement...often to those who would rather be left alone. I just wanted to highlight their stories tonight. They are often overlooked and when their loved one has passed on they are then forgotten.

I do not pretend to know anything about this subject. I too have been guilty of solely focusing on the returned trooper and not really on those he or she returns to. This is a tremendously difficult subject to talk about or even think about. After reading the background on some of these blogs I was just stunned. Stunned but not silent, hence this post....